Forest of Lies
by TashTash6
Summary: Riverpaw been led to believe his life was always Thunderclan, but a mysterious appearance changes everything. So, with the help of his best friends, he sets out to find who and where he really belongs.
1. Allegiances

**ALLEGIANCES**

THUNDERCLAN

LEADER

**SUNSTAR – **sand-colored she-cat, with darker paws.

DEPUTY

**RIPPLETOOTH** – smoky - gray tom with black stripes.

**APPRENTICE, BARKPAW**

MEDICINE CAT

**SILVERLEAF – **silver ticked tabby she-cat, with deep blue eyes.

WARRIORS

**RAVENBLAZE – **black tom with gray paws and muzzle.

**APPRENTICE, RIVERPAW**

**SWIFTTAIL – **black tom with white legs, belly, chest and muzzle.

**DARKMOUTH – **cream tom with black muzzle.

**FOXPELT – **red tabby tom with white tail tip.

**APPRENTICE, OWLPAW**

**FROSTPETAL – **cream she-cat with a pale body and head except for face and ears.

**MISTSHADOW – **silver tabby chinchilla she-cat.

**APPRENTICE, FAWNPAW**

APPRENTICES

**BARKPAW- **brown tabby tom

**RIVERPAW – **chocolate Bengal with a long tail.

**OWLPAW – **torbie tom.

**FAWNPAW – **fawn mink she-cat.

QUEENS

**BLOSSOMPELT – **blue she-cat with paws tinged white.

**KITS: PINEKIT, YELLOWKIT, FERNKIT**

KITS

**PINEKIT – **light brown tabby.

**YELLOWKIT – **off-white she-cat.

**FERNKIT – **cinnamon she-cat.

ELDERS

**MOLETOOTH - **brown tom with notched ear.

**LIONTAIL – **golden tom with impaired vision


	2. Prologue

**Prologue**

Snow swept across mountains, showing no mercy for any creature that wished to live there. Prey had all hidden, been flung away by the wind, or died in the freeze. In a cave hidden behind a waterfall, a large group of cats huddled, sharing warmth and waiting for the blizzard to end. Towards the middle of the group, a she-cat was desperately licking her kits, hoping to keep the warm. Without any fresh-kill, she had no milk, and her kits were steadily growing weaker.

Another she-cat was sitting close-by, murmuring to the mother. "Leaf, you cannot leave. It will get better, I promise. You and your kits would not survive in this weather, it would send you off the edge of a cliff, or an eagle could get you." She started to sound desperate as Leaf slowly stood up and shook her pelt. "Please! You would never survive! Stay with us, we will take care of you. Your kits will become strong cave-guards and prey-hunters! Please Leaf, don't leave!" But Leaf had already shaken her head. "I must go, Rain, but I have thought long on this. I will only take one of my kits, and the others must stay with you." Rain looked up pleading with Leaf to not leave, but she had already made up her mind. "River will come with me, Sun and Willow will stay." She bent down and licked both of her kits once more. Rain nodded slowly. "I will look after them as my own. I have the milk to support them, and I am sure Hawk will understand, after the death of…" Rain faltered.

She remembered the kit she had loved so much, and then her sorrow when he died after eating a poisonous leaf. But this was her chance to become a mother once more, to help her Tribe. Besides, Leaf was her best friend, and she could never leave her kits to die. Not when no one else could look after them. Leaf's mate, Hollow, had left during the storm as well, on a hunting patrol, in a feeble attempt to find prey. None of the cats had ever been seen again.

Rain followed Leaf to the waterfall, and watched her climb down the rocks, dreading the moment the she-cat slipped. But both River and Leaf made it down, and Rain sighed in relief. She whispered into the breeze, "Goodbye, Leaf That Drifts On Wind and River That Flows Through Valley", before turning back inside to inform Stoneteller that another cat had left.


	3. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

A cat growled. "I bet you couldn't defeat a squirrel, even I you tried!" he teased. He was a lean tom, with a light brown pelt with dark brown spots that varied in length and size. His tail was longer than all his den mates, and his paws were always steady, as if he had been made for balancing on thin ledges. His eyes were golden, matching his pelt.

"We'll see about that, Riverpaw!" hissed another tom, circling the first. His pelt was brown with darker brown stripes across his back, tail, legs and head. A few light patches of orange-brown could be seen over the stripes. He had strong muscles, but was bulky, which was his weakness. Riverpaw saw this, and quickly darted around the back of the tom, nipped at his hind legs, then slid underneath, and battered it's belly with his paws.

The tom jumped away in surprise, and then sat down. "You win, Riverpaw. Your way too quick for me!" Riverpaw yowled in triumph, then padded over to the tom. "Come on, Owlpaw, lets go hunt before we go back to the clan." Owlpaw stood up and raced off, calling over his shoulder, "I bet I catch the first piece of prey!" Riverpaw bounded after him, and soon caught up; having longer legs certainly helped. Owlpaw stopped, and lowered himself into the hunters crouch, pulling himself through a group of ferns. Riverpaw opened his mouth and scented a mouse. Not long after, a squeal told him Owlpaw had been successful. As he padded back out into the open, Riverpaw congratulated him. Owlpaw had always been the better hunter, although Riverpaw was good at catching birds mid-flight. His jump would never let his paws miss, although he didn't understand why only he could jump this high.

As he and Owlpaw headed back towards the camp after their hunt, he heard high-pitched squeals and small yowls of "Shadowclan!" He suddenly realized that the camp was unguarded, with all the cats out on patrol, and quickly raced through the thorn barrier, ready to defend the nursery at any cost.

He stumbled over three kits as he dashed through the entrance, and stopped with surprise. There were no Shadowclan cats to be seen anywhere, only Blossompelt watching her kits. Pinekit, Yellowkit and Fernkit were tumbling around the clearing. Pinekit yowled, "I am Pinestar! Give up, Yellowstar, or face the consequences!" Yellowkit stood up. "Never, you stupid furball! I have the power of Riverclan with me!" Both Fernkit and Yellow kit then leaped at Pinekit.

Owlpaw sighed. "We should have known it would only be the kits!" They both padded over to the freshkill pile and dropped the mouse and blackbird, which Riverpaw had caught. As Owlpaw walked off towards the apprentice den, Riverpaw heard a rustle, and Darkfoot's patrol entered the camp. Following him was Ravenblaze, his mentor, Rippletooth and Fawnpaw. The she-cat headed over towards Riverpaw. "Hi, Riverpaw! You been hunting?" she meowed happily.

Fawnpaw was a cheerful she-cat, and was always fun to be around. Her fur was a dusky cream, and her tail, legs and face were just a bit darker than the rest of her. Fawnpaw's eyes were grey, although they never seemed to stop shining. She was also thin like Riverpaw, but she was better at hunting than him. A fair amount of cats believed she was the best hunter in the clan.

"Yeah, but we only caught a mouse and a blackbird" Owlpaw meowed as he bounded over. "It looks like most of the prey will be hiding soon, especially with these cold nights."

Fawnpaw shrugged. "Maybe your just bad hunters" she teased, and then quickly ran off before they could get her. Owlpaw turned to Riverpaw. "I'm going to go get a piece of freshkill with Fawnpaw, you want to join? " he asked, tipping his head to the side. Riverpaw shook his head. "I'm going to go for a walk instead." Seeing Owl paw's questioning look, he added "I just want to soak up the last of the Greenleaf sun before Leafbare arrives." With that, he padded off to the entrance, and although he hadn't lied about the walk, he wanted to do more than just take advantage of the sun.


	4. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Riverpaw slipped between the trees. He still felt uncomfortable under them, even though he had been here all his life. He couldn't understand why, but he just felt it was unnatural to live under the constant threat of the giant pieces of wood, after all, he had heard stories of when the tree fell into the camp, and killed an elder and injured a cat's hind legs. Riverpaw sighed. That was long ago, before he was born, and he shouldn't be worrying about the past. The present was far more important.

Riverpaw glanced around and realized he was standing beside the stream that marked the border between Thunderclan and Windclan. He gazed out across the moors, an idea forming in his mind. Maybe he wasn't really part of Thunderclan. He had never felt like he belonged to the forest the way his clanmates did. Windclan lived out in the open, and were fast runners. They hated hunting under trees, and from what he had heard from the elders, slept out under the stars.

He quickly pushed the thought away. He was of Thunderclan blood, no matter how different he was. He ran away from the border, not wanting to see the moors anymore. He was not a Windclan cat!

That night, Riverpaw couldn't sleep. It didn't matter what he did, he just couldn't shake the thought that he was a Windclan cat. He stood up, and carefully stepped in between the apprentices. Fawnpaw and Owlpaw were sleeping close by, but he didn't want to wake them. He nearly stepped on Barkpaw's tail, but stopped himself just before he did.

Finally he got out of the den without waking any cats. He looked around the clearing. He could go for a walk, but he was worried where his paws would take him. He could go see his mother, but she slept in the middle of the warrior's den, and he didn't want to wake any of the other cats. Then he saw the medicine cat's den. He brightened. Silverleaf might be able to help him with doubts.

He entered her den to find that Silverleaf was still awake. She looked up as he entered. "Riverpaw! What can I do for you?" she meowed. Riverpaw looked down at his paws, unsure where to start. Silverleaf must have noticed this, because she said in a softer tone, "I can see something is worrying you. Come on, you can tell me." At these words, Riverpaw looked up, and then told the medicine cat about taking a walk, then being on the Windclan border, and finally, his concerns about his being half-clan.

Silverleaf just looked down at him. After a moment's hesitation, she meowed, "Riverpaw, I promised Frostpetal I wouldn't tell you this unless you found out for yourself. But I think now is an exception, especially with your doubts about your heritage. Here, lets go out into the forest, and I will explain it all there."

Riverpaw followed the she-cat through the undergrowth, until Silverleaf stopped and sat down in a small clearing. Riverpaw sat down across from her. Silverleaf began. "Riverpaw, part of your theory is right. You have not always been Thunderclan." Riverpaw froze with fear. Maybe he _was _right. Maybe he had always been a Windclan cat. Before he could say anything out loud, though, Silverleaf continued. "Your mother is not Frostpetal, and your father isn't Foxpelt. I'm sorry to say this, Riverpaw, but you are not Thunderclan at all. In fact, you are not from any of the clans". Riverpaw growled. "So you're saying I'm a _rogue_?"

"Not at all" she responded, "Your from a group of cats who live far away, but act like the clans. You may have heard stories about them, like when all four clans had cats secretly running off to hear a warning from Starclan, and got rescued by these cats, or during the Great Journey, when the clans stayed in their cave." Riverpaw stepped back. "I-I'm from the Tribe of Rushing Water?" he meowed. "Yes, River That Flows Through Valley."


End file.
